Top 10 Benefits of Foam Rolling

My Top 10 Benefits of Foam Rolling

“A simple way to improve your form using foam!”

The Benefits of Foam Rolling After any sort of physical activity, especially a good workout session, the muscles tend to contract and tighten up. If these muscles don’t release fully, it can lead to knots and adhesions being formed which can be painful. There is a simple solution to prevent or even treat such a condition, and that is using a thick foam tube. The benefits of foam rolling not only include loosening up the tight muscles but in effect, it improves the overall muscle functioning and helps you achieve better & faster results.

how Does Foam Rolling Work?

Foam rolling is practised by using a thick foam to perform self-massage by rolling it over different parts of the body. The deep compression experienced through such massage helps to loosen up the tight muscles through a mechanism called myofascial release.

Confused? Merely think of fascia as a sort of plastic wrap that runs under our skin, all across the body. It is the connective tissue that is linked to not just our muscles but even the nerves and organs, basically holding us together. And the fascia takes a heavy load when we experience physical stress, such as during a workout session. My article on What Is Foam Rolling talks more in-depth about how foam rolling enables the self-myofascial release.

What Are The Benefits Of Foam Rolling?

A foam roller is an easy to use equipment to perform the self-myofascial release. Foam rolling has been proven highly beneficial in improving your physical fitness and in achieving faster results. Pro-athletes, weightlifters, etc have long reaped the benefits of foam rolling, by incorporating it as part of both the pre and post-workout routine. So let’s take a look at what some of those benefits are…

So Here Are My Top 10 Benefits Of Foam Rolling

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #1: Eliminates Cellulite

Ever notice those lumpy dimpled little flesh on your thighs, buttocks or stomach? Those are cellulite, i.e., fat deposits that get pushed through the fascia. Cellulite is an unsightly appearance that affects millions of people. The good news is that there is a simple solution to make them go away – foam rolling! By breaking up the fascia, using a foam roller, the fat gets smoothened out. Thus, getting rid of the cellulite and giving you clearer skin!

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #2: Pumps Up The Blood Flow

Foam rolling helps to stretch the muscles and break the fascia by applying pressure on it over time. This process helps to squeeze out the old blood, thus causing fresh new blood to flow in. New blood means fresh oxygen and other nutrients such as glycogen, which are highly beneficial for the muscles. These help the muscles to recover faster, flush out waste products and perform at optimum capacity. The more consistently you practise foam rolling, the better the blood circulation gets, and the better the muscles function.

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #3: Enables Smoother Movements

Including foam rolling in the pre-workout routine as part of dynamic warm-ups helps to avoid any painful muscle pulling or damage. This is because, foam rolling increases the blood circulation to the muscles, which means they are completely hydrated thereby reducing friction between the muscles as they move past one another during the workout. The smoother the movement between muscles, the more effective your workout will be.

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #4: Increases The Range of Motion

There are many advantages linked to the muscles being better hydrated as a result of pre-workout foam rolling. An improved range of motion is one more. A broader range of motion also means that your body will utilize many more muscles during the workout. An enhanced range of motion while also making use of all Three Planes Of Motion during your exercise is key to having an effective workout. The improved range of motion also reduces the chances of an injury during a workout. This also takes us to yet another advantage of foam rolling – flexibility.

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #5: Gives You Better Flexibility

Regular workouts can cause the muscles to stiffen up. This reduces your range of motion and also increases the chances of an injury. Which is why most good trainers will advise you to do some static stretching after your workout. This helps to loosen those stiff muscles. As studies and research into the science of physical fitness increased, we found an even better alternative to help flex and release the tension in those muscles, and that is using a foam roller after a workout session. An International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy study revealed an almost immediate effect of massaging the hamstring muscles with a foam roller, producing much better sit-and-reach results.

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #6: Reduces The Risk Of Injury

As we have seen from the above-mentioned benefits of foam rolling, this self-myofascial release technique boosts up the blood circulation keeping the muscles well hydrated, increases the range of motion and improves flexibility. Additionally, all of these benefits together contribute to significantly reducing any risk of injury. Reduced friction between muscle movements and better flexibility prevents faulty body movements thus cutting down the chances of an injury. But the benefits of foam rolling does not end there. If off chance, you do get injured, then regular use of foam rolling helps to cut down on the recovery time significantly. Read on, to find out more.

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #7: Cuts Down Recovery Time

After a good workout session, the muscles tend to feel sore and stiff. This post-workout duration is when the use of a foam roller to perform self-myofascial release can be highly helpful. Using a foam roller increases blood circulation to the massaged areas. The new blood brings along with its fresh oxygen and nutrients, which help to wash away the lactic acid that gets collected in the muscles during a workout. Additionally, the faster the muscles receive the oxygen and other nutrients, the quicker it is able to repair all the wear and tear, thus leading to more rapid recovery.

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #8: Increases Your Metabolism

The right diet and regular exercise help to improve your metabolism. But, as you may have guessed already, using a foam roller can boost up your metabolism even further. Using a foam roller gets our heart rate up and causes us to breathe deeper. It also, as I’ve mentioned earlier, pumps up the blood circulation which improves the supply of oxygen and other essential nutrients. All of these factors, help in not only building leaner and stronger muscles but also in increasing the body’s metabolism rate.

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #9: Helps To Ease Your Stress

Apart from all the physical benefits mentioned above, foam rolling has its therapeutic advantages as well. When the body is experiencing high-stress levels, as in the case after an intense workout, the back and neck areas tend to tense up. Applying foam rolling techniques during such times can help to relax those muscles, thus releasing tension from those areas. Even a short session of foam rolling will leave you feeling much fresher and rejuvenated. Using a system like the Stress Bucket Model can also help to better manage and keep in check your stress levels.

Benefits Of Foam Rolling #10: Gets You Faster Results

The cumulative effect of all the benefits of foam rolling mentioned above will enable you to reach your goal of physical fitness much faster. Improved metabolism, range of motion, flexibility and reduced the risk of injury. It also aids in recovery time and helps prevent overtraining. This is the primary reason that many professional athletes and bodybuilders have long made use of the foam roller. (It’s very cheap as well) So if you got a date in mind to reach specific fitness goals, then don’t waste time. Get yourself rolling on a  foam roller today!

If you notice, in the above-mentioned benefits of foam rolling. The foam roller is an instrumental piece of equipment for both pre and post-workout routines. When used before a workout, it is a great tool to start your dynamic warm-up with. The foam roller gets our blood pumping, loosens and lubricates the muscles and joints and in general, prepares your body for the workout. Post-workout on the other hand aids in the cooldown and recovery process.

Recommened Foam Rollers

LifePro Foam Rollers are by far the best foam rollers out there. They have an added vibration settings that helps the relaxing of the muscles. The vibrations enable a deep tissue massage and increase myofascial release. This equals a faster recovery time from your training.

Conclusion

Ideally, you should try and make foam rolling a regular part of both your pre and post-workout. For one, the foam roller is super cheap. All it needs is a one time purchase that costs less than a single massage session. Another important fact is that foam rolling hardly takes any time. Even 5 minutes on the roller has been proven to be very useful. But, of course, if there really is a time crunch, then I’d opt for a quick pre-workout foam rolling session.

If you’ve already accustomed yourself to using the foam roller, then I’m sure you have already noticed the benefits. Share this article with your peers to help spread this useful knowledge. Or use the comment section below to enlighten others of your own personal experience of the benefits of foam rolling. In case, you’re in Phuket and still haven’t tried the foam roller yet, get in contact with me, and I’ll help you reap the benefits of foam rolling.